Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Greek Corner Coffee Shop Diner

There's a window on 7th Avenue and 28th Street that has always attracted me, but only at night when it glows a yellow fluorescent glow behind a small gathering of dressmaker's dummies. The ceiling is pressed tin. A wall is hung with spindles of colored thread. Sometimes, you see the shape of a seamstress going by. It looks like a window into the past.



I've always been so captivated by the window that I never looked at what lies beneath it.



When I finally did, it was like a discovery. The Greek Corner Coffee Shop Diner, in business here since 1980, is another window into the past. (The building owner must be a decent human being to allow so much to remain.)



It has a long counter and matching tables covered in aquamarine Formica, a color perhaps meant to conjure memories of the Aegean sea. A poster of the Acropolis hangs above. At the other end, by the front window where it can be seen and admired, a hunk of gyro meat sits on its spit.





The Acropolis poster and the gyro rotisserie were once staples of the New York City dining experience. But we don't have many Greek coffee shop diners left. We don't have many coffee shop diners left. For now, we still have this one--with its sizzling eggs and sausages in the morning, its stacks of plates, its bread wrapped in wax paper from Bakers Best, its poster in the window boasting "We Make the Best Burger in NYC."

The Greek Corner Coffee Shop Diner also has an ancient cash register--and it's a Faerman, straight from the Bowery. When I tell the cashier that I love her cash register she tells me, "You love it? You can have it," and demonstrates how difficult it is to push the antique buttons. Her boss is old-fashioned, she explains, as the drawer pops out. It is lined in weathered wood. Gorgeous. "Take it," the cashier says, "Take it!"





11 comments:

Ms. said...

Been there--it's comforting isn't it :-)

Little Earthquake said...

You should have asked if that includes anything in the register too!

randall said...

Honestly, how "difficult" could it be for someone who is actually able bodied enough to work to push real buttons?

Voyager said...

I work around the corner, this is a great, classic lunch place. Go for the chicken souvlaki platter, good stuff.

Voyager said...

Great lunch spot. Try the chicken souvlaki platter, good stuff.

Marty Wombacher said...

I love that cash register too, this is a definite stop when I come back to visit. Great post and photos!

Anonymous said...

Randall - funny enough as it sounds, I can absolutely understand the cashier's frustrations. I work in a wonderful outdated retail setting (independently-owned video rental, one of the last standing), and our credit card machine easily dates back to the Clinton administration. The buttons are stubborn pains in the ass, and by the end of the shift, my fingernails are aching like hell. Sounds silly from the outside, but I know just what she's saying. However - I wouldn't give it up for the world. Long live outdated and completely necessary places like this!

laura said...

they should keep the register even if they stop using it. it's historical. havnt been there since early 90s, nice to know they are open.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful. Really wonderful.

Priscilla said...

I used to work across the street and had their gyro every week. The real deal and so inexpensive. It was my favorite lunch spot in the area.

Rachel Federman said...

I know this place - have passed it a thousand times but went in only once, for coffee. I should go there...gotta keep these places alive amidst the 7-11s, frozen yogurt chains, banks and duane reades. what a FANTASTIC site you have here...I have so much to read...bookmarking now. (I am constantly bemoaning the loss of yet another book store, (even sad to see B&N and Borders closing), diner, old-school bar...all feels so sad. Makes me feel like an old person though, talking about how things "used to be".